Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset is here

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Samsung has finally taken the wraps off its much-hyped Galaxy XR headset, a futuristic mashup of virtual and augmented reality powered by AI and Android XR. 

And yes, you can actually order it today.

The biggest surprise? The price tag: $1,799. That’s nearly half the cost of Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro, despite both devices packing the same 256GB of storage. 

For those who pre-registered early, Samsung’s throwing in a $100 discount, bringing it down to $1,699, plus a bonus bundle worth $1,000 in subscriptions to Google AI Pro, YouTube Premium, and Google Play Pass. Not a bad haul for jumping into the metaverse early.

So how did Samsung pull this off? For starters, the Galaxy XR doesn’t have Apple’s creepy front-facing Eye display, the one that projects a digital version of your eyeballs to the outside world. 

Instead, Samsung focused on building a clean, AI-driven experience. 

The headset taps into Google’s Gemini assistant for hands-free, voice-based control and supports gesture recognition for more natural interaction. 

If you prefer old-school input, you can snag physical motion controllers for an extra $250 (currently 30% off).

Samsung built the headset in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, betting big that AI-powered XR is the next major platform after smartphones. 

And honestly, this might be the first headset that feels just within reach, even if it still costs more than most people’s rent.

Of course, we’ve seen this hype cycle before. Whether the Galaxy XR actually changes the market or ends up collecting dust next to your old Gear VR remains to be seen. 

But it does put pressure on Apple to make a cheaper Vision Pro, and gives VR-curious consumers a new, slightly less wallet-destroying option.

For now, the XR wars have officially begun. You can join the fray by ordering the Galaxy XR today, if you’re in the US or Korea and feeling futuristic enough to drop nearly two grand on the next big thing.